The Cavaliers tried to make the playoffs this year — honest. They were active in free agency before it began, and when those moves didn’t pan out, they ditched Andrew Bynum midseason and traded for Luol Deng, without any assurances that he’d be willing to re-sign once his contract was up at the conclusion of the regular season.

Deng reportedly didn’t like what he saw during his short time in Cleveland — between the locker room issues and the lack of control from then head coach Mike Brown, he wasn’t interested in even considering the Cavaliers as a free agent destination.

Yahoo Sports reported Thursday that the Cavs could increase their chances of retaining free agent Luol Deng should they hire [former Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin] to be their coach, but the Cavs tried trading Deng at the trade deadline three months ago and haven’t expressed much interest in bringing him back.

Deng is undoubtedly an All-Star talent, but a more subtle one if that makes any sense. He isn’t the type to anchor a team, but he would be an excellent veteran piece to solidify a winning situation that’s already in place.

If the Cavaliers are going to spend what Deng will likely cost in free agency, they need to get an impactful player in return for committing those salary cap dollars. Deng reportedly had zero interest in re-signing in Cleveland, so the team not pursuing him is likely a function of that, along with considerations of how that money could be better spent on players more likely to compliment the roster as it’s currently constructed.

The Cavaliers just finished a season that was bad enough to land them in the NBA’s Draft Lottery, and good fortune ended up smiling upon them for the second straight year as they came away with the number one overall pick once again.

But none of that was by design.

Cleveland acquired players via both trade and free agency in hopes of making a run at the playoffs in a watered-down Eastern Conference, it’s just that none of those moves ended up panning out. Before the season it was Earl Clark, Jarrett jack and Andrew Bynum, and in the middle of the campaign it was Luol Deng. But Mike brown in his second stint as Cavs head coach couldn’t make the pieces fit, and he’s now gone again as a result.

Cavaliers GM David Griffin said after winning the Draft Lottery that owning the top pick wouldn’t affect his coaching search, although he did admit it might help make his team more attractive to potential candidates. The team seems to have one in mind who might be at the top of that list, based on a prior relationship.

The Cavaliers have asked permission to speak with Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Alvin Gentry, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported on Thursday. One source with knowledge of the coaching search wouldn’t confirm the report, but said the Cavs have not interviewed any candidates yet.

Gentry, 59, is considered a leading candidate for the Cavs job because of his Phoenix ties to General Manager David Griffin. He has a 335-370 record in parts of 12 seasons as a head coach with the Phoenix Suns, Clippers and Detroit Pistons. He also served as interim coach of the Miami Heat.

Gentry is an offensive-minded coach who Doc Rivers brought to Los Angeles as his associate head coach in order to help the spacing of the Clippers offense. It worked, too — L.A. finished number one in the league in offensive efficiency, with a rating of 109.4 points per 100 possessions.

Cleveland has talent, and by virtue of owning the top pick in the draft, has assets. A good, veteran coach should be able to make it work there fairly quickly, at least in terms of seeing some tangible results. Gentry’s overall experience, along with his relationship with the man running the front office would appear to make him a fine choice for the job.

The Pacers – admirably or stubbornly – do what they do. They’re going to be big, and they’re going to be methodical.

The Heat are much more flexible, and it will be on Erik Spoelstra to determine how he wants to structure lineups around LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Maybe Miami goes small with Bosh at center and a stretch four – LeBron, Rashard Lewis or Shane Battier – to space the floor. That would ensure Roy Hibbert defends outside the paint, removing the anchor of Indiana’s defense and removing Hibbert from his comfort zone. However, it would also leave the Heat vulnerable defensively to Hibbert’s post-ups and make Miami pick its poison on whether LeBron doesn’t guard Paul George or David West. Any sign Hibbert has lost confidence to the point he can’t score regardless, this should become the preferred strategy.

On the other hand, the Heat could also go big to counter Hibbert and West. Greg Oden was signed to match up with Hibbert, though that went disastrously in their regular-season meeting meeting. Small sample? Yes. Worth another shot? Maybe. Probably, even. Chris Andersen is Miami’s most reliable big man outside of Bosh, and he’ll definitely play a major role in this series. But he’s 35 and hasn’t played 30 minutes in regulation in four years. There’s only so much he can do.

Udonis Haslem could split the difference.

Haslem is an extremely physical player who, despite being just 6-foot-8, can work on Hibbert. He also has a nice mid-range jumper to pull Hibbert from the paint, though not all the way to the 3-point arc. Haslem started in the first round against the Bobcats, and then he played just three minutes against the small-ball Nets.

Spoelstra is more than willing to change his rotations based on opponent.

It’s not just who plays, but when they play – especially Bosh. Bosh is a solid defender in the right matchups, but Hibbert – and, to a lesser extent, West – can beat him up inside. Ideally for the Heat, they won’t waste all Bosh’s energy in a losing defensive match up only have him spent offensively.

2) How much does homecourt advantage matter?

All season, the Pacers made their goal securing the No. 1 seed and homecourt advantage. They’re so serious about beating Miami, they were looking for an edge since day one after losing a road Game 7 to the Heat last year.

Miami doesn’t take the regular season as seriously – see its record vs. Brooklyn in the regular season and postseason – and Indiana got the top seed it desired despite a late-season slide.

So, will all that work pay off?

In postseason series during the last four years, the Pacers are 4-0 with homecourt advantage and 1-3 without it. In individual games against Miami during the same span, the Pacers are 8-5 at home and 3-11 on the road.

It seems this should be important to Indiana.

Then again, the Pacers are 5-6 in their last 11 home games. Plus, in the Big Three era, the Heat are 11-1 with homecourt advantage and 2-0 without it in a series. They can win anywhere.

Maybe it will matter most as a mental reminder to the Pacers about why they worked so hard in the first place, potentially helping them summon some of the confidence they showed regularly early in the season and appears only occasionally now.

3) How hungry are the Pacers?

In 2012, Miami eliminated Indiana in six games in the second round. In 2013, Miami eliminated Indiana in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pacers are chomping at the bit, getting closer and closer to toppling the aging Heat.

From Miami’s perspective, keeping a hungry team at bay is hard. Yes, teams should – and generally do – give maximum effort at this point in the season. But when you’re coming from the position of power, there’s a lower threshold of energy you can reach once you get on the court.

The sensation of being corned and the desire to overcome a challenge are not easy to fake. The Pacers have it. The Heat have to fake it.

Since the NBA expanded to a 16-team playoff format in 1984, teams have met in three consecutive postseasons 22 times. The same team has won all three matchups just eight times. Five of those eight had Phil Jackson – the ultimate playoff motivator – as coach.

That leaves just three teams in 30 years that have beaten the same playoff opponent in three consecutive years without Jackson.

Could the Heat make it No. 4? They have a member of the one of the previous three – LeBron, whose Cavaliers beat the Wizards in 2006, 2007 and 2008. As usual, Miami’s demeanor will be defined by its megastar.

PREDICTION

The Pacers’ late collapse was very real, but also probably overblown. A good, but not elite, team is left in the rubble. It’s also a team designed specifically to match up with the Heat, Indiana could definitely overcome the quality gap between the teams.

The biggest potential variable is one that hopefully won’t be an issue at all – Wade’s health. If he goes down, this series loses a lot of prestige. He looks fine, but his knees are a constant concern and will be for the rest of his career. As long as Wade avoids injury, the Heat will just be too much.

I can’t imagine a scenario where the Pacers chose not to give Bynum a physical in a vacuum. Quite likely, he refused to do a physical until they signed him, which is a perfectly reasonable negotiating point on his end. It also should have been a huge red flag to Indiana.

And maybe it was.

I’m not totally sold the Pacers signed Bynum only to keep him from the Heat, but this makes it look so much more likely.

As Roy Hibbert continues to struggle mightily for the Pacers in the playoffs, the masses seem desperate for a legitimate explanation as to why, exactly, his play has been so dismal.

There are some crazy stories out there if you look hard enough, but none of them are from credible sources. And Hibbert’s teammates continue to say that everything is just fine in their locker room, despite the slide Indiana has experienced for more than two straight months.

Andrew Bynum is no longer with the team, having come to a mutual agreement with management to end the partnership that was aimed at adding depth to the roster for the postseason run. While it’s difficult to believe his sheer presence was an issue, the signing reportedly bothered Hibbert, at least initially.

Center Roy Hibbert‘s ongoing tailspin coincides with Bynum’s arrival, so much that some team insiders have wondered if the move rattled Hibbert’s confidence and trust.

Through Jan. 31, Hibbert was posting his customary numbers – 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks per game – for a team that was 35-10. After Bynum was signed, Hibbert averaged 9.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. He’s been worse in Indiana’s eight playoff games so far: 4.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks. And the Pacers have gone 25-20.

Bynum hasn’t been around the team for the past few games, and it’s doubtful that his arrival alone sent Hibbert into such a noticeable nosedive, especially when it continued long after it became known that Bynum wouldn’t be able to contribute at all for the Pacers due to his ongoing injury.

The reality is that only Hibbert knows the true reason for his dip in production. But considering that he came alive in the first half of Game 2 against the Wizards by pouring in 17 points in 15 minutes on the day Bynum was officially gone for good, there may be more to it than would seem to make sense.